Green Bay Packers expect Charles Woodson to play Sunday

Jan. 4, 2010

Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson made his ninth interception of the season, and returned it for his third touchdown of 2009, during Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Evan Siegle/Press-Gazette

Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Woodson will play in Sunday’s wild-card game at Arizona.

That was never seriously in doubt, not even after Woodson took himself out of Sunday’s regular-season finale after he banged his right shoulder. It’s the same shoulder that has been bothering him since the Thanksgiving game at Detroit.

On Monday, coach Mike McCarthy called it a shoulder strain but confirmed what Woodson said after the game — that he’ll be full go for the playoffs.

“Frankly, I think Charles will go through the same week of preparation that he has here the past probably six weeks,” McCarthy said. “I fully expect him to be ready to go for Arizona.”

Woodson’s effectiveness could be perhaps the biggest key for the Packers. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers used Woodson primarily to shadow the Cardinals’ best receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, this past Sunday. Woodson intercepted a pass intended for Fitzgerald and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown.

Woodson has played through pain most of the season but hasn’t missed a start on the way to perhaps the finest season of his 12-year NFL career. Earlier in the season, he was bothered by a hip injury. Woodson has typically been limited for two of the week’s practices and then been a full participant for one day.

McCarthy didn’t mention any other injuries on Monday, and the team doesn’t have to file its first official injury report until Wednesday.

Perhaps the biggest concern other than Woodson is the status of backup safety Derrick Martin, who is a core special teams players. He missed Sunday’s finale because of a sprained ankle, and he was still in a walking boot after the game.

Nose tackle Ryan Pickett (hamstring) and linebacker Brandon Chillar (back) said they expected to be available this week.

Cardinals injury report

The status of the three Cardinals injured on Sunday remains up in the air for this week’s playoff rematch against the Packers.

The most concerning injury seems to be to receiver Anquan Boldin, who injured an ankle and knee in a collision with Packers safety Nick Collins in the third quarter.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt said Boldin’s ankle was sore Tuesday morning and is the bigger concern than the knee, although both will be checked out.

“We’re just making sure we send him over for an MRI just to make sure,” Whisenhunt said. “But ... we’ll have to see how he progresses as the week goes on.”

Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who was cleated in a knee on the game’s third play, “seems to be doing pretty well,” Whisenhunt said. “He’s got good range of motion in his knee, and I anticipate he’ll progress rapidly as the week goes.”

Defensive end Calais Campbell’s injured thumb is fractured.

“We’re obviously hopeful Calais will be able to go,” Whisenhunt said. “I think it’s just going to be a question as far as how this week progresses.”

Whisenhunt said he wasn’t sure whether Campbell might need surgery.

Taking care of the ball

The Packers finished with a league-low 16 turnovers, which was also the fewest in franchise history.

That surpassed the previous low of 19 in 1972.

If there was a single key to the offensive success this season, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin believes it was taking care of the ball.

“On Saturday, we showed the guys a couple of clips from when we came together as a staff in July,” Philbin said. “The number one thing we talked about was averaging one giveaway per game. We had 15 giveaways (going into Sunday’s game), so if we could just hang on, but we had one, but that’s a tremendous accomplishment.”

They hit several other goals, Philbin said.

“We wanted to be 47 percent on third down, and we hit that thing right on the nose,” he said. “We wanted to average 28 points a game, and we hit that thing dead on the nose. These guys have done what we’ve asked them to do. They deserve a lot of credit.”

More milestones

The Packers also posted a franchise-record 461 points, topping the mark of 456 set by the 1996 Super Bowl winning team.

On defense, they led the NFL in rushing defense (83.3 yards per game) for the first time in team history. That average also was a franchise record, and the 1,333 rushing yards allowed were the fewest in a 16-game season in team history.

The Packers also led the league with 40 takeaways, including a league-best 30 interceptions. It was the first time the Packers led the NFL in interceptions since 1965, when it tied with Washington for the league high

Odds and ends

The NFL announced on Monday that the top-seeded New Orleans Saints will host their divisional playoff game on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 3:30 p.m., while the NFC’s second seed, the Minnesota Vikings, will host their divisional playoff game on Sunday, Jan. 17 at noon.

♦ McCarthy said he will name his playoff captains later this week. McCarthy typically changes captains each week during the regular season, but the league requires teams to pick the same captains throughout the playoffs.